cracker: a bragging liar

Sunday, November 30, 2008

First stop: 18-19 Dec: Hotel Riviera Macau (aka RITZ!)Double Room HKD570 per night.I booked the cheapest and nearest hotel from the Macau International Airport because I expect myself to be utterly exhausted by the time I reach Macau having flown from KK to KL and then to Macau!

Next morning, we will take the ferry to Hong Kong and will be staying at Kowloon New Hostel for three nights (19-21)Double room HKD360 per night

As for the rest of the journey from 22-24 Dec,we have no pre-booked place of stay and will be travelling by faith.

I need to get myself a very good ultra-light backpack...Maybe we could shop a bit during the first 3 days in HK and get ready for the big adventure of faith...

PS: I got booked the lodgings vide booking.comthis website is very user friendly and most importantly it allows of cancellation of booking 3 days before check in.

Friday, November 28, 2008

This morning on LightFM (yes, I listen to that radio station every morning), the discussion was whether one would consider entering into a Prenuptial Agreement before getting married.

The DJs (one of them is a law graduate) were discussing the issue without addressing the fact the prenuptial agreement not really "legal" in Malaysia!

It is definitely no illegal. But as our Malaysia divorce law is governed by the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (Act 164), the decision of the courts are bound by the statute, needless to say, Prenuptial Agreement is not part of the statute!

Hence, when a couple get a divorce and came to the court to ask for division of their matrimonial assets, the judges' decision will not be bound by any Prenuptial Agreement entered between the parties. Because section 76 of the LRA 1976 gave power to the court to order the division of matrimonial assets. The considerations to be regarded are provided under section 76(2) and Prenuptial Agreement is not part of these factors. Therefore courts may look into a Prenuptial Agreement but only as reference.

As a matter of fact, section 80 of the LRA 1976 expressly provides that an agreement for payment of a capital sum in settlemt of all future claims to maintenance shall NOT be effective until it has been approved by the court!

Thus, it seems that Prenuptial Agreement is not "that effective" in the courts of law in Malaysia. But then again, even only as reference, a judge may be persuaded to grant maintenance in accordance with any Prenuptial Agreement signed between two parties who are divorcing at a end of a fairly short marriage.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

First time inside the Recital Hall...The sound system here is definitely much much much more better than Yayasan's!

Enjoyed the music although strings were never my cup of tea!

I'm sure I would have enjoyed it a lot lot more if if were a wind quartet or a piano concerto, or a full orchestra... or just an a cappella choir!

Strings just... not me! :)

But I'm sure it has been a splendid performance from the madly audience applause!

PS: I took the picture with my Minolta Dimage Xi without flash on self timer mode (to reduce shake) and EV+0.3... I've taken many other pictures but all came out blur this is the clearest I can get with Xi... sigh! I know, that's why I'm in desperate need of a new digicam...

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

To keep the story short, she bought a condo in PJ using her bumiputra status and would like know whether she could sell to non bumi or transfer (correct term should be "assign" as the strata title for her property has not been issued) to her non bumi husband.

So, here's what I gathered:

First of all, I think many people got confused with the following terms: Bumi Lot, Bumi Quota, Malay Reserved Land, Freehold, Leasehold.

In West Malaysia, everyone knows there are two types of land: either freehold (where you own the land forever), and leasehold (where there is a certain number of years that you can own the land to a maximum of 99 years, after which you have to pay the Government a premium to renew the leasehold or surrender the land back to the state).

Now, what then is Malay Reserved Land? A Malay Reserved Land is like the Native Title in Sabah. That is, land that can only be owned, sold and transferred to a Malay (or in the case of NT, to a native of Sabah).

That is to say, on top of freehold or leasehold, you have to see if the land (be it freehold or leasehold) is designated as a Malay Reserve!

So many were mistaken when they take it that, oh if the land is freehold/leasehold so it can't be a Malay Reserve. WRONG!

Get this straight first: Leasehold freehold pertains to the land tenure (number of years you can own the land); while "Malay Reserve Land" pertains to the status of the land, ie, whether it can be owned by you or not in the first place!

Remember, the above are about "land"! Now, let's jump to Bumi Lot or Bumi Quota.

Bumi Lot or Bumi quota refer to a certain number of property in any housing development (it could be landed or non landed property) which has to be sold to the bumiputra pursuant to the Government Policy in Malaysia. A bumi lot or bumi quota need not necessary mean the land on which the property has been constructed on is a Malay Reserve Land be it freehold or leasehold (as I have explained, a Malay Reserve Land can be a freehold or leasehold). Similarly, it may be that the developed land was a Malay Reserve, but that does not mean all the properties constructed on a Malay Reserve Land are bumi lot or under bumi quota!

Of course, before any housing development or any property development is constructed on a Malay Reserve Land, the developer may apply to the state so that the Malay Reserve Land to be converted to a non Malay Reserve freehold or a leasehold. Or else, all houses build on the Malay Reserve Land can only be sold to Malay.

So, when did bumi lot or bumi quota come into the picture?

After the land is being developed and the properties are ready for sell, the local authority will instructed the Developer that a certain lots or percentage of the completed units are to be sold to bumiputra only. (This is the Government's policy to secure the availability of housing accommodation for the bumiputra.)

As such, there are two types of arrangement, either certain lots are specified to be sold to and owned by bumiputra; or the Developer, when selling the properties, has to ensure that 30% of the buyers are bumiputra.

There is a significant difference whether a unit of property is under bumi quota or is a bumi lot.

When a property is sold under the bumi quota, the property does not carry a bumi-lot status. Ie, it is has the same status as any property sold to a non bumiputra. So, a property sold under bumi quota can later be sold to any person, whether bumi or non bumi.

A bumi lot is different. It's a property with "bumi status". As such, it could only be sold and resold ONLY to bumiputra. When the strata title is issued, the document of title will state that the particular property is a "bumi lot".

Remember what's a Malay Reserve Land? Now, by analogy, a non landed "bumi lot" is technically a "Malay Reserve property" even though the land on which it was constructed is NOT Malay Reserve Land. (There has been debate whether this is proper, as the Government has in fact created a new type of property ownership through their "policy"!).

OK, let's come back to my friends question, whether she can transfer her property to her non bumi husband or sell to non bumi.

The answer is a question: Whether her particular unit is a bumi lot or a property sold under a bumi quota. She can transfer/sell to non bumi if its just bought under bumi quota, but cannot do the same if her property is a "bumi lot".

How could she find out whether it's bumi lot or bumi quota? Write to the Developer and can a confirmation in writing from them.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Love can't you see I'm alone Can't you give this fool a chance A little love is all I ask - a little kindness in the night Please don't leave me behind No - don't tell me love is blind A little love is all I ask and that is all Oh love I've been searching so long I've been searching high and low A little love is all I ask - a little sadness when you're gone Maybe you need a friend Only please don't lets pretend A little love is all I ask and that is all I wanna spread my wings - but I just cant fly As a string of pearls and pretty girls go sailing by Ocean deep - I'm so afraid to show my feelings I have sailed a million ceilings - in my - Solitary room Ocean deep - will I ever find a lover Maybe she has found another And as I cry myself to sleep I know this love of mine Ill keep - ocean deep Love can't you hear when I call Can't you hear a word I say A little love is all I ask A little feeling when we touch Why am I still alone? I've got a heart without a home A little love is all I ask - and that is all I wanna spread my wings - but I just cant fly As a string of pearls and pretty girls go sailing by Ocean deep - I'm so afraid to show my feelings I have sailed a million ceilings - in my - Solitary room Ocean deep - will I ever find a lover Maybe she has found another And as I cry myself to sleep I know this love of mine Ill keep - ocean deep I'm so lonely lonely lonely... Maybe..

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I wasn't particularly worried over lodging in Macau Hong Kong for the backpacking trip in December... because, hey, this is backpacking! We are supposed to walk till we can't and then sleep wherever we can.

Anyway... that's what I thought it should be, but since we have a fellow traveler of less faith, we have to compromise.

After look-see a bit, here are a few guesthouse and hotels that we might end up staying... or even booking... and gosh! Aren't they expensive!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

It seems that my brother can't find me a virgin silver LX3 from KL... so I am not getting the camera this Tuesday as planned... well, never mind, if it's not meant to be, que sera sera!

Anyway, as I was telling LLM about my "misfortune", it turns out that she also owned a Panasonic with leica lens! When I asked her what model, she gave me "Mega O.I.S. Wide"... I don't know what to say to this woman!

Anyway, after finding out the correct model name and checking out its specs, it turns out that, her camera is also not bad, not bad at all for a 2 year old model!

So I might not be able to shoot Macau and Hong Kong with a brand new LX3, but at least, I'd still be sharing a Panasonic leica lens camera with LLM...

Coming back to the "intended purchases", of course, I have yet to own any of them yet... hahaha! Coz I'm not really that rich, okay?!

I DON'T EVEN HAVE MY OWN CAR... not to mention the Tiara I'm driving broke down again yesterday on my way back from work... my family is urging me to get a new car while I still insist as long as the Tiara is still "repairable" I'm not buying another car... not worth it! Why spend the money on things I "already have"? I'd rather spend on other things like cameras...

Friday, November 7, 2008

I'm a very "gan-jiong" person... When I say urgent I meant I want it NOW. But to be fair to others, I will normally give people a buffer of a week's time to react... but beyond that, I will start chasing!

But I met my match with SX bank... This is one bank that, when you say urgent, they will say OK... then its one week passed. You call again, "oh we can't find the letter of offer" (they don't have record of their OWN documents) "could you ask the Vendor (their own customer) to give you a copy of the letter of offer so that you could fax to us?"

... what can I say?

I got the document and faxed to them, called them, and was told "in progress, by next week"... Come next week, no sight of the documents you asked for, so you called, they say, "next week..."!

AGAIN!?

I called them so many times that I could recognise them by their voices and call out their names before they identify themselves!

Yet... my document is not here yet!

For the past couple of weeks, the first thing I thought of every morning when I woke up from my bed, is: when can I get the document from SX bank!

This really drains me up... and this coming weekend, I doubt I'd have peace of mind, in view of the fact that I still can't get a "guarantee" from them that I will get my document next week!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Due to the invasion of our DBKK car parking lots by the taxi drivers, the firm has graciously arranged for parking in the building next to the firm's office building... yes, firm will be paying for it. And how much? RM300 a month!!! Sigh!

I felt a bit embarrassed of the "humble car" I'm going to park there! RM300 a month when currently the firm pays RM52 for our monthly DBKK parking card... that means I got an "increment" of RM248!!! I WISH!

RM300... will I ever get over it...

Anyway, I can only start parking at the "expensive lot" next month. For this month, it's a fight with others for a limited availability "green number" DBKK lot around the Bandaran KK.